High-pressure compressibility and thermal expansion of aragonite

The structure and isothermal equation of state of aragonite were determined to 40 GPa using synchrotron single-crystal X-ray techniques. In addition, powder diffraction techniques were used to determine thermal expansion between 298-673 K. At room temperature, aragonite has orthorhombic Pnma structure to 40 GPa, with an isothermal bulk modulus of 66.5(7) GPa and K' = 5.0(1). Between 25-30 GPa the aragonite unit cell begins to distort due to a stiffening of the c-axis compressibility, which is controlled by the orientation and distortion of the carbonate groups. The ambient pressure thermal expansion measurements yielded thermal expansion coefficients a(0) = 4.9(2) x 10(-5) and a(1) = 3.7(5) x 10(-8). The combined results allow the derivation of a thermal equation of state. The new data provide constraints on the behavior of carbonates and carbon cycling in the Earth's crust and mantle.